The Lost Titan
by Omega1041
Summary: Beast Boy is kicked off the team for disobeying Robin and disappears. How do things change when he comes back stronger than he ever was and saves the team? Can Beast Boy find his place in the world without the Titans? Strong, witty Beast Boy.
1. Chapter 1 Worst Day Ever

**A/N: Hi everyone. This is Omega and thank you for choosing to read this story. This is my first fan fiction story ever so please forgive me if it's not that great right now or the characters don't act exactly how they normally would. **

**Now I'm basing most of my writing off the original cartoon series and not the comic books, although there will be involvement from other people in the DC universe.**

**Also, just a warning for you. Robin is kind of a dick in this story. (Heh heh, dick. Like his name.) So sorry for all you Robin fans but you may not like this story.**

**Well anyway this chapter is kind of a prologue, thanks again for stopping by and enjoy.**

**Chapter 1: Worst Day Ever**

Garfield Logan took one last glance at the tower that seemed to glow against the night sky as he walked into the distance with his duffle bag slung over his shoulder. A variety of emotions flashed through him as he looked upon his home for the greatest years of his life. He felt rage, betrayal, sadness, confusion and even fear as he said goodbye to the place that held more memories than he could count. He struggled to hold back his tears as he recalled the worst day of his life and the events that led up to his removal from the team.

XXXXXX

(Flashback to earlier that day)

The alarm rang signaling it was 9 a.m. and it awoke a groggy Beast Boy from his slumber. This had actually been one of his better sleeps in the past while. It seemed like it was D-list villain season and they were coming out in droves. Multiple attacks on Jump City everyday for the past week had left the team overworked and quite stressed. While dealing with baddies like Control Freak and Gizmo wasn't necessarily difficult for the team, it did usually take up a good chunk of time and ended up being rather annoying.

Beast Boy yawned and took a minute to stretch his muscles as he looked at the bright day outside his bedroom window. _'I have a feeling that today is gonna be a good day' _ he mused to himself and smiled as he gazed at the deep blue sky. He didn't know how wrong he was going to be.

Half an hour later Beast Boy was in the kitchen preparing himself a large serving of pancakes for breakfast when another type of alarm went off. The city was in trouble again.

"Ugh, who is it this time? Let me guess, Adonis is messing with body builders on the beach again." Beast Boy groaned as he entered the room he went to every time this alarm went off and where the rest of his team was currently standing. However, when Beast Boy looked at the face that popped up on the screen it wasn't Adonis. No, it was someone incredibly worse...

"Slade." The rage could be clearly heard in Robin's voice as he called out the name of their worst enemy.

"Hello Titans." Slade's cold voice rung out and filled the entire room with a sense of dread. " I bet you're wondering why I'm calling. I'd like to make a confession. I've done a very bad thing and I thought you should know about it. You see, I left a few bombs lying around the city, five to be exact, and unless some brave heroes find and deactivate them, I fear they might go off."

"We're not gonna play your games Slade!" Robin yelled in a fury.

"Oh you will dear Robin, or you will lose your oh so precious city" Slade retorted. " You have four hours to find the bombs before they explode. As to where I've left them, well let's just say I was feeling a little nostalgic." And with that, Slade face blurred out of existence from the screen.

One could nearly hear Robin's teeth grinding as he shook in anger at the return of his arch-nemesis. "We have to stop those bombs. Titans, go!" Robin growled out.

XXXXXX

(5 Hours Later)

The team had managed to work out the location of each of the bombs and disarm all five of them. Then they were even able to figure out where Slade was hiding and were now battling what seemed like an army of Slade-bots in the street. Things had not been looking good for awhile, but the long conflict looked to be slowing down. Almost all of the bots had been obliterated, but in the process Raven and Cyborg were seriously injured and in need of medical attention.

They had both been caught in an explosion caused by the destruction of one of Slade's larger tank robots that were the size of a small house. Raven had been caught off guard by the blast and was thrown into the side of building. She was knocked unconscious as soon as she hit and while she was still breathing, she was definitely out for the fight.

Cyborg wasn't so lucky. As he was the one who caused the explosion, he ended up taking the full force of it. Cyborg had landed on top of the large robot and fired his arm canon directly down through it. Unfortunately, the explosion it created was larger than he expected and he was caught near dead center. When Cyborg's body landed, one of his arms and both of his legs had been torn off, leaving only charred scrap metal and wires where the limbs used to be.

Even worse, Starfire was nowhere to be found. At some point during the fight she was apparently drawn off or pushed away from the main battle. This left the remaining two titans to deal what was left of the bots and Slade himself.

Beast Boy brought his large gorilla fists down upon the last Slade-bot in the area and crushed its head with his strength. He turned back to his human form and looked over to where Robin was currently participating in hand-to-hand combat with Slade. While both fighters were getting in a few good hits, Slade was clearly beginning to overpower the boy wonder.

Slade delivered a devastating punch to Robin's face, causing him to stumble backwards. "Oh dear, Robin. I'm disappointed. You haven't improved at all." Slade taunted in a somewhat bored tone.

"Raaaaaagh!" Robin shouted in rage and retaliated by trying to flying kick to Slade's face.

Slade, however, simply caught Robin's foot as it approached and swiftly slammed Robin's body into the pavement. He kept a hold on Robin's foot and began to twist his leg until he felt the bone break. Robin howled in pain and Slade merely let out a cold chuckle and said, "Looks like I win Robin. Again.", and started to walk away from the broken hero.

Robin felt even more anger as he watched Slade's back move away. He quickly grabbed one of his birdarangs and chucked it at Slade's retreating form. Slade was prepared for this. He simply plucked the approaching equipment out of the air with two fingers without even looking. "Really Robin? You think simple toys can help you?"

However, Slade was interrupted when the birdarang in his hand started flashing and making beeping sounds. A smirk grew on Robin's face when the device exploded in the man's hand and the ensuing blast seemed to engulf him completely. When the smoke cleared Slade's body was face down on the floor and he wasn't moving. Robin smiled to himself victoriously, thinking he had finally bested his greatest foe. However, the smile soon left when he heard coughs and saw Slade shakily stand and turn to face him.

"Well done, Robin. I have to say, I'm actually impressed. That was a good move...", Slade said in a hoarse voice through his cracked mask, "but not good enough."

Slade was going to break the boy wonder some more, but when he saw Beast Boy quickly approaching he knew he had to go. He was injured by that explosion and he barely had enough energy to make an escape, let alone take on another Titan. He quickly turned and started to once again retreat, this time with a visible hobble.

Robin had thought he had finally gotten Slade with that move and now that it was revealed he had failed to stop Slade again he was seeing red. He desperately wanted to stop Slade from getting away once again. His hope for this was renewed when he turned to see Beast Boy running up to help him.

"Beast Boy!", Robin yelled out to his approaching companion, "You have to stop Slade! I'll be fine, no matter what you do you have to stop him! No matter what, do not let him..."

"Help me! Aaaaaaagh! Somebody please help!" Robin was interrupted by a loud, piercing scream. A young girl seemed to be pinned underneath a car that had been torn up and flipped over during the battle. She was surrounded by encroaching flames and was sure to be burned alive if she wasn't helped.

Beast Boy immediately took a step toward the girl, but stopped when he heard Robin's voice. "No! Beast Boy do not save that girl! Ignore her and stop Slade! Do not let him get away!" Robin ordered.

Beast Boy couldn't believe his abnormally sensitive ears. Was his leader really telling him to let this girl die. Was he so blinded by his hate for Slade that he would throw away people's lives to stop him. Beast Boy wanted to believe in his leader's decisions, but as he watched this girl screaming for help, he knew he couldn't just let her die.

He ran as fast as he could toward her and shifted back into his gorilla form. He lifted the car off her pinned body and picked her up in order to move her to safety. He placed her down gently against a wall away from all the wreckage and destruction. He then turned to where Slade had been making his escape, but it was too late. Slade was already gone.

He looked toward Robin to see the boy's face covered in what could only be described as pure resentment. "God damn it!" Robin yelled into the air.

XXXXXX

(3 Hours Later)

Things were not looking good for the Titans after the battle. Raven and Cyborg were in the hospital recovering from their wounds and Robin hadn't said a word to Beast Boy since Slade had escaped.

Starfire had returned, she was apparently caught up fighting some of the larger tank bots a few blocks down. She was confused and concerned about the tense atmosphere between Robin and Beast Boy, but did not ask about it.

When the three heroes finally returned to the tower, Robin confronted Beast Boy.

"You let Slade get away!" Robin accusingly yelled.

"I had to!", Beast Boy quickly defended himself, "Otherwise that girl..."

"No! No excuses! You disobeyed a direct order and because of that Slade is still on the streets!" Robin interrupted angrily.

"I don't need to defend myself. There was no choice, I had to help that girl."

"Oh yeah! And what about all the other people that are going to get hurt by Slade in his next attack!"

"So I should have just let her die!"

"Oh please! Are you really so desperate for somebody to see you for something other than a green-skinned freak that you just have to save anybody in hopes that they like you!"

Starfire gasped from behind at what Robin said. A look of hurt crossed over Beast Boy's face. How could Robin say that?

"Friend Robin, don't you think that was a little mean." Starfire called out to her friend.

"Not now Starfire!" Robin yelled out, "Beast Boy, if you can't follow my orders then you can't be on my team! You're no longer a member of the Teen Titans!"

Starfire gasped once again, "Friend Robin, surely you cannot be serious. Friend Beast Boy has always..."

Robin was still consumed by the rage that Slade had caused and this only seemed to increase it. Starfire was siding with Beast Boy over him? "Starfire, if you continue to defend him, then you can feel free to join him off the team."

A hurt look now crossed over Starfire's face and she opened her mouth to talk once again, but Beast Boy quickly interrupted, "No! It's fine Starfire. It's clear now what Robin thinks of me. You don't want me on your team? Fine! I don't want to be on the team of a lunatic so obsessed with beating his enemy that he'll let an innocent girl die anyway."

Robin didn't like how Beast Boy was talking to him. If it wasn't for that broken leg he would have seriously beat the shit out of that short, green-skinned freak. "Just get your stuff and get out!", he yelled, " and leave your communicator!"

Beast Boy merely took it out of his pocket and dropped it on the ground. He then walked away towards his room to get his stuff.

Starfire looked worriedly at Beast Boy as he walked away and even felt tears start to build in her eyes as she watched her friend leave. How could this happen?

XXXXXX

(Flashback end, present time)

Garfield felt angry thinking about Robin once again and turned away from his former home. He then couldn't help but feel scared about what was going to happen. He had nowhere else to go and no one else to rely on. The Titans had been his whole life until now and now he had nothing. He stopped himself, he couldn't afraid. He had to be strong in order to get through this. He couldn't help but feel worried though because for the first time in a long time, he was no longer Beast Boy. He was no longer a Teen Titan.

**And that's a wrap. Sooooo, how was it? Not bad for a first time right? (I hope.)**

**I'm not really sure on what to do for pairings. This fic is going to mostly centered on Beast Boy, but if it comes down to it, I guess I could try some side stuff too. Who do you think I should pair Beast Boy with? Raven is the obvious one, but it could be someone else or even a small group of people. I've got some ideas but let me know what you think.**

**Tell me what I could improve on or what you might want to see in the story too.**

**Lastly, I don't really know how often I'll update. I'm currently in college and kind of busy so I don't know exactly what my schedule is going to be like. So please don't get mad at me if stuff takes a little while to come out. I'll try to get stuff done as fast as I can.**

**Anyways, thanks again for reading my stuff. Hope I managed to interest you and hope to see you again next time! Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2 Reunion

**A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back to **_**The Lost Titan**_**. I'm really sorry this chapter took so long, but between dealing with midterms and the death of someone I knew, I haven't really had time to write and this chapter took longer for me to finish than I thought. I'll definitely upload the next chapter in a shorter amount of time.**

**I realized that the last chapter was a bit short, but in my defense it was a prologue. So, I tried to make this chapter a bit longer. I'm not exactly sure how long to make chapters but this felt about right.**

**Anyway, this chapter happens four years after Beast Boy was booted from the tower and things have definitely changed for the Titans. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 2: Reunion**

Another gloomy day passed over Jump City as the dull, gray sky released another downpour of cold, unforgiving rain from the heavens. It had been a long four years since Robin had thrown Beast Boy out of the Tower and it seemed as if it had been nothing but gloomy days ever since. In fact, the whole city seemed to be lacking a little bit of color since that day and it was especially obvious around the Titan's Tower.

Every member of the team had been affected by Robin's brash decision, some more than others. Cyborg had taken it especially hard. When he and Raven returned from their stay at the hospital and they discovered that Beast Boy was nowhere to be found, they were confused. When Robin told them what had happened, though he left some details out, they were in disbelief. For a while they even thought that he was joking and that Beast Boy was simply out on a mission or something, but when the sour truth had finally been realized by Cyborg, he was devastated. Beast Boy was his best friend and was like a little brother to him. If there was anyone on the team that Cyborg got along with it was Beast Boy. Since that day Cyborg had nearly fallen into depression numerous times, and he probably would have if he didn't have the support of Bumblebee. She was now his girlfriend and one of the newest members of the main Titan's team.

Raven's reaction to the news was more difficult to read, but the difference was still there to those who paid attention. Raven's normally dark personality seemed to take on a whole new level of emptiness and she seemed to become even quieter, if that was possible. Inside she held a torrent of emotions that she didn't quite understand. She was confused, sad, angry, worried, and even a little lonely. In the following weeks after Beast Boy's disappearance she truly felt the meaning behind the words " You only realize how much you love something once it's gone". She found herself missing his corny jokes and his silly, toothy grin. Eventually she even admitted to herself that she really missed her green-skinned friend. Friend? She often wondered if that was really all it was or if she had actually wanted more from her relationship with him, but she was too confused by her feelings at the moment to be able to tell. What she did know, however, was that she desperately wanted him to come back.

Starfire had come to resent herself for how things had gone down that day. She felt guilty for not doing a better job at standing up for Beast Boy. She missed her friend and his goofy charm and couldn't help but feel partially responsible for what had happened. Even though Beast Boy himself had told her not to step in, she knew she should have done more. Since that day her relationship with Robin had become complicated. They had finally acknowledged their feelings for one another and had begun dating, but ever since that day a distance had formed between the two. Whenever Starfire looked at Robin she thought back to that day and how unforgiving he had been to their friend. She loved Robin, or at least she thought she did, but at the same time she hated him for kicking out Beast Boy. In the end, Starfire decided that the only thing she could do to try and make up for Robin and her mistakes was to find Beast Boy and bring him back. So whenever the idea of searching for the lost hero was brought up, she was always the first to jump in and help.

The old Titan's weren't the only ones who were affected by the missing hero. Two new members had been added to the main team since Beast Boy's leaving. Bumblebee and Kid Flash were recruited by Robin, who felt they needed someone to fill the gap Beast Boy left in battles. Robin seemed to think was a perfectly acceptable idea, but for the rest of the Titans the new teammates couldn't replace what was lost with their friend's absence. Bumblebee and Kid Flash could both feel the depressing atmosphere around the tower and they could only try their best to comfort their fellow Titans. They knew that they weren't able to fill the hole that Beast Boy left and they didn't try, they just did what they could to ease the pain of their friends.

One person, however, who wasn't particularly affected by Beast Boy's removal from the team was Robin. Robin was perfectly fine without the green-skinned teen walking about the Tower, he actually seemed a bit relieved now that Beast Boy was gone. One thing, however, that had changed for the boy wonder was that the other Titans became distant to him. This was not only due to the fact that Robin had kicked out Beast Boy in the first place, but also because whenever Beast Boy or attempts at finding him were mentioned, Robin instantly became unreasonably hostile and threatened to punish whoever began the line of thought.

Robin, however, didn't particularly notice this distance beyond his own simple musings because he was busy with a much more important personal project. While everyone else was busy looking for Beast Boy, Robin was searching for someone else, Slade. Slade had disappeared the same day Beast Boy had and Robin still couldn't find him. In Robin's mind this was all Beast Boy's fault. If he had just listened to Robin's orders and stopped Slade, then Robin would have finally beaten his arch-nemesis. So now because of Beast Boy's incompetence, Robin had to spend endless hours, days, weeks searching for Slade over these past four years. Robin couldn't understand how the madman had simply vanished, but he knew that until Slade was captured, finding him was the only thing that mattered.

"Come on! Where are you!?" Robin yelled out in rage and slammed his clenched fists into the keyboard as he continued to scour the computer's database for any evidence leading to Slade's whereabouts.

"Boyfriend Robin, perhaps you should take a break from the searching of Slade?" Starfire asked meekly with worry in her voice. Ever since nearly capturing Slade, Robin had seemed to become even more obsessed with his arch-nemesis. His main focus of everyday appeared to be finding the villain. Even after four years of finding nothing, he continued to search. It almost seemed like the less he found on the villain, the more time he spent locked in the room looking for more and it was starting to become a detriment to the entire team.

Robin sighed audibly, "No Starfire. You know I can't stop". Robin couldn't understand why she didn't see how important it was to find Slade. It's would only be a matter of time before the man comes back and when he does they wouldn't be caught off-guard again. "I'm close. I know I am".

Starfire sighed. She had heard this line before, many times in the last four years, but Slade hadn't shown up anywhere since that day. Starfire looked at her boyfriend, his focus was completely locked on the screen in front of him. She sighed again and left him alone for another day. She was really getting worried about him, but at the same time she couldn't help but feel angry at him. She was tired of his constant focus on Slade and couldn't understand why her boyfriend was so unhealthily obsessed with the evil man.

She walked out into the main living space of the Titan's Tower where her friends lounged about, doing mundane activities to pass the time. Cyborg idly flicked through channels on the television while Bumblebee rested her head on his metallic chest with her eyes closed, Raven sat alone in one of the chairs reading to herself quietly, and Kid Flash was speedily making himself a sandwich in the kitchen. While everyone appeared to be going about their day as usual, Starfire could still feel the depressing overtone that became normal when Beast Boy departed.

Bumblebee cracked open her eyes when she heard Starfire enter the room. "No luck sweetie?", she sincerely asked her friend.

"No", Starfire sighed, "Boyfriend Robin feels he must continue to search." Starfire almost felt like crying at her verbal admission of another failed attempt at tearing her boyfriend away from his obsession.

Bumblebee somehow sensed this and got up to comfort her friend. She brought her arms around Starfire and embraced her in a hug while rubbing her back, "Don't worry sweetie, everything's going to be fine. I'm sure Robin will give up on his search for Slade soon". While Bumblebee wasn't very certain of her words, but she knew that what Starfire needed right now was some comforting words. It was at this very moment that they heard Robin's yell.

"Yes! I did it! I finally found you, you bastard! I knew that if I kept looking I would eventually find you! I bet you thought you could hide from me, but I got you now!" Everyone in the room felt their eyes widen with his words and they instantly shot up to see what Robin had found.

Robin had been sifting through Jump City police reports when he found that someone reported seeing a strange masked man lurking about the warehouse district. Robin doubted that this was Slade and figured it was probably just some D-list villain in a mask, but he had decided a long time ago that he would check every lead, no matter how small. So Robin hacked into some of the security feeds from around the warehouses to his amazement there stood Slade himself at the entrance of Warehouse 5-C. Robin couldn't stop himself from screaming out in elation at finally having found the madman after four endless years of searching.

They all blankly stared at the screen as they filed into the room. They saw him standing there on the paused security footage and they could barely believe it. "Ha! You all doubted me! You thought I wouldn't find him! But here it is! I WAS RIGHT!" Robin yelled somewhat manically as his gaze never left the man on the screen.

With one final glare at the image, Robin swiftly spun around his chair and hopped to his feet. "We have to go now. This time we'll stop him before he even starts. Let's go!"

Raven frowned at the screen. Something about this felt wrong to her. "Robin, maybe we shouldn't jump into this so hastily. Slade disappeared with no trace for four years. Don't you think it's a little odd that you just happened to come across him on a security camera. This could be a trap.", she warned.

"It doesn't matter. It took me this long to find him, I'll be damned if I let him get away again. If it's a trap then we'll just have to spring it. We are not letting him escape.", Robin exclaimed and began to swiftly walk from the room before adding under his breath, "And this time I won't lose because of some green-skinned freak."

XXXXXX

_**Warehouse 5-C**_

Robin led the group of six into the shabby, rundown warehouse. They examined the interior of the building as they mentally prepared themselves for anything. 5-C was dark on the inside, so dark that next to nothing could be seen by the young heroes. Despite the darkness it also appeared quite enormous, it was all one big room that strangely seemed larger on the inside than when viewing the exterior. The apparent vastness of the interior may have been enhanced by the emptiness of the warehouse, there was no evidence of any supplies of any kind actually being stored here. The only noticeable thing was the limited lighting in the large building, a row of dim low-hanging lights running down the center of the warehouse was the only source of light, leaving the edges and corners of the building concealed in foreboding blackness.

The Titans were nervous, especially Raven whose senses screamed that this was a trap. She wanted to leave, but she knew Robin would proceed whether she was there or not and she knew her other friends would likely still follow him into this deathtrap. So she figured that if they were going to be walking into a trap, she would at least be there to back them up.

Robin, on the other hand, felt an emotion that none of his fellow companions shared, excitement. After searching for month after exhausting month, he had finally found the man he was looking for. This was his moment. Robin would absolutely prove that he was better than Slade, once and for all.

The group cautiously made their way toward the center of the warehouse when a lone figure stepped out of from the darkness revealing himself. The double-sided mask that he adorned had become no less menacing in his four years of absence.

"Why hello Titans, it's been quite a while since we last saw one another", Slade's calm, cool voice rolled out and seem to fill the entire vastness of the empty warehouse.

"Slade", Robin breathed with a very audible edge to his voice.

Slade simply chuckled at the young Titan's typical response. "Yes Robin, it's me. I have to admit I've missed you all so dearly over these past four years. In fact, I feel like I'm beginning to tear up.", Slade said with amusement in his voice, "I was unsure whether you were going to come, but then I remembered how predictable you always were."

Robin growled at the man's provocations, his rage was starting to build once again at the words of his arch-nemesis.

"Yes, it was important that you came today, after all it is the anniversary of our last battle. I thought it would be poetic that the fated day of our reunion would be exactly four years later.", Slade continued. He stopped and looked around before speaking again, "Oh, but wait. Speaking of our reunion, isn't someone missing here? Yes. Where is our little green friend Beast Boy?"

The Titans visibly stiffened at the mention of their missing friend, but Robin simply growled out in response, "That _thing_ is no longer a part of our team." Cyborg, Raven and Starfire stiffened again at Robin's words, this time in anger over Robin's referral of their old companion as a thing.

"Oh? Is that so? How sad", Slade commented, "I imagine that wherever the boy is he must be so terribly lonely right now." The three that had previously been filled with anger found it replaced by sadness, they couldn't help but worry about him. "Ah well, it's unfortunate that he can't be here to join us, but the show must go on. I also couldn't help but notice you've added two new faces to your little team. Are they perhaps the boy's replacements?"

Robin smirked at this and was prepared to make a snide remark about how much better their team was with these two when he was interrupted by, surprisingly, Starfire. "No! Friend Beast Boy could never be replaced!" Starfire's eyes glowed a powerful green as she shouted this at their enemy.

Above the meeting an unseen figure shifted at the words as it observed the meeting from its position in the high rafters of the warehouse.

"Starfire! What did I tell you?! Beast Boy is not a member of this team anymore!", Robin snapped at her for her outburst. He was getting sick of them constantly bringing up their old teammate. Beast Boy was a nuisance, they were better off without him.

"What's this? Am I sensing some tension in this perfect little team of do-gooders? Trouble in paradise, perhaps?" Slade stepped into the conversation.

"It's none of your business Slade!" Robin yelled at the man.

"Hmm, perhaps your right. Well, it doesn't matter anyway. In a short while none of you will have to worry about trivial things like that." Slade coolly replied.

"And why's that?" Robin yelled in indignation.

Slade let out a cold, evil laugh that was menacing enough to put fear in all the Titans in the warehouse. "Because you'll be dead", he casually stated as if it was an absolute truth.

Silence loomed over the group as the words sank in. Then Robin suddenly laughed, "Ha! You really think you can take on all six of us by yourself? You've gotten dumb in these last four years Slade."

Slade chuckled at this, ''Oh no, dear Robin. You seem to be mistaken about something. I'm not going to be fighting you. You see, on the way here, I met a couple people who wanted to help celebrate our glorious reunion. They are just thrilled to see you again."

Bright lights flashed on, illuminating every corner of the dark warehouse and blinding the Titans for a few seconds.

"Hello sister dear. How I've missed you so." Starfire gasped when she heard the voice and turned to see none other than her sister Blackfire leaning against a wall. She donned her typical outfit consisting of visible metal plating on her arms and torso , while black fabric covers her chest, waist, and legs. Her long, black hair had grown slightly longer now, to the point where it reaches her lower back, and flows wildly behind her.

Starfire's eyes glowed a bright-green as she faced her corrupted sister, "Sister, why are you here? Why do you work for the Slade?"

Blackfire laughed evilly and her eyes took on a similar bright-purple glow, "Simple sister dear. To pay you back."

Meanwhile Cyborg was concerned with a different villain from their long history of crime fighting. Before him stood Brother Blood, a criminal mastermind and Cyborg's personal arch-nemesis. The man's cybernetic parts glowed a furious red that indicated his increased power. What was left of his human face held a sinister grin as he looked upon the heroes.

"Cyborg, Bumblebee, it's so nice to see my old students again. Oh wait, that's right. You were both traitors. I've waited a long time for this, but I'm finally going to destroy you", the old man cackled.

"Blood, you've never been able to beat me in the past, what makes you think it's going to be any different now?" Cyborg called out as he stared the man down.

"Because now I'm much, much stronger", the cybernetics on Blood's body glowed an even brighter red with his words.

Robin also had a blast from the past to deal with and this villain was too closely tied to Robin's own history than he was comfortable with. The man wore a completely black body-suit with ash-gray gloves and utility belt, black boots with steel-soles, and a black cape with an ash-gray interior. However, the two most distinguishing features of the man were the white skull mask and the colored marks on his chest, mask, and hands that matched his name, Red X.

"What are you doing here X? I thought killing wasn't your game", Robin breathed out with narrowed eyes.

"It's not, but Slade has something I need. So I'm just doing what I always do, looking out for number one", the young thief replied.

Robin took in the situation around him. The trap was a little underwhelming. The Titans still had numbers on their side and Slade didn't even appear to be getting involved, at least not until these three were beat, plus these were all enemies that they had defeated in the past. Robin felt he was being underestimated again and it was pissing him off. "C'mon Slade, this was the best you could do? We'll wipe the floor with your three flunkies and then it's your turn!"

Slade laughed at this, "I don't know Robin. Those three have been practicing quite a lot for this. After all, they were all so excited to be reunited with their favorite heroes."

Robin smirked at him and then commanded his team, "Titans, pair up and take them down!" With this the Titans split up into three groups and faced their individual enemies. Cyborg and Bumblebee stared down their former Hive Academy teacher, Starfire glared at her sister with Raven backing her up, and Robin and Flash both got into fighting poses as they faced off with Red X.

XXXXXX

_**With Cyborg and Bumblebee**_

"Things aren't going to be any different this time around Blood. All this time has passed, but nothing's changed. Your still the demented, power-hungry old man you always were!", yelled Cyborg to his adversary.

"Oh but some things have changed young Cyborg. I've made some upgrades!" With this Blood raised his arm towards Cyborg, revealing what appeared to be a Sonic Cannon of the same caliber as Cyborg's. He fired a red beam straight at the metallic hero. Cyborg was caught by surprise for a second, Blood's cannon was almost an exact replica of his own and because of this shock he only narrowly avoided the fired beam by jumping to the side. Cyborg recovered and looked back towards Blood, only seeing a metallic fist approaching his face. He was sent tumbling across the floor.

"Come on Sparky! Pay attention! Blood's got some firepower this time!" Bee flew up past Cyborg as he tumbled. She flew around Blood at a distance and fired off her stinger blasts. She did not want to get too close without knowing what else Blood had 'upgraded'.

"Oh I haven't forgotten about you my little Bumblebee." The stinger blasts simply bounced off of Blood as he spoke. A compartment on his shoulder opened up revealing a line of small missiles, all of which fired and flew straight towards Bee. She remained still as the missiles approached her and when they were only a few seconds away she twisted and contorted in the air, moving around and dodging each of the incoming missiles. She readjusted herself in the air and looked down at Blood with a triumphant smirk. A smirk he returned before uttering a word that would spell doom for Bumblebee, "Heat-seekers."

Cyborg was removing himself from the indent in the wall that had stopped his tumbling momentum when he heard the explosion. He looked up to see a grinning Brother Blood staring at a large cloud of smoke in the air above. Cyborg used the chance while Blood was distracted to close the distance. Even if Blood had copied his weapons, he would still be able to outmatch Blood in strength. Cyborg pulled back his right arm and sent a fist straight at the side of Blood's face. He was mere inches from hitting his mark when a sharp resistance stopped him dead in his tracks. Blood had caught Cyborg's punch with a single hand and without so much as a flinch.

Blood's one remaining human eye turned its attention towards the young hero and Blood let out a chuckle. "Still relying on brute strength? How predictable. Did you really think that a superior mind like mine wouldn't find a way to overcome your most basic attack." Blood's grip on Cyborg's hand tightened and the metal fist began to dent inward. Cyborg tried to pull his hand away, but couldn't move it an inch. An evil looking grin took over all of Blood's face as he watched Cyborg's futile attempts at escape, he tightened his grip one last time and crushed Cyborg's fist into scrap metal. Blood's other hand immediately moved into a fist of his own and he once again hit Cyborg hard in the face.

Cyborg again tumbled across the floor, but this time he really felt the damage. Once he stopped he got up on one knee and tried to once again towards his opponent. Blood was oozing from Cyborg's mouth and dripping down the human side of his face, while the robotic side was dented and the natural blue glow of his mechanical parts had dimmed significantly. Blood was still looking triumphant as he stared down at the damaged hero. Cyborg was now really worried, he had seriously underestimated Blood and now it was costing him. Cyborg was allowed to feel a bit of relief when the smoke finally cleared from behind Blood and revealed Bumblebee slowly getting off the ground. She got up and started walking towards Blood's turned back. However, Cyborg's relief quickly turned to horror when Bee kept walking right past Blood and straight towards him. It was then that Cyborg saw that Bee's eyes had taken on a dark crimson glow.

Blood laughed maniacally, "Looks like my upgrades were better! Goodnight, Cyborg." The last thing Cyborg saw was the blast from Bee's stingers before he was out cold.

XXXXXX

_**With Starfire and Raven**_

The two sisters stared at each other from across the room. One with an angry, determined look and the other with an amused smirk. "Oh what's the matter sister dear? Not happy to see me?"

Starfire's eyes glowed brighter as her anger increased. "No. I am not. Why do you return?"

Blackfire's smile turned sharply into a scowl. "You should know why. You ruined me. You humiliated me! I was banished because of you! Now I'm going to make you feel what I did ten times over!" Blackfire hands glowed and she went flying straight at her sister at unbelievable speed. She collided her outstretched fists directly into Starfire's stomach and sent her flying backwards. Blackfire followed the attack by shooting several powerfully-charged bolts right after her sister, resulting in an explosion when they connected.

Blackfire, however, was not able to soak in her minor victory as she was hit in the side by a floating piece of concrete covered in a black energy. She got up and looked over to see Raven floating in mid-air, surrounding by several other floating objects from around the room. "Well, I mostly came to pay back my sister, but I suppose I do owe the Titans a bit too." Raven started tossing the objects at high speeds towards the Tamaranean. Blackfire laughed and blew each of the thrown projectiles into small pieces with her hand bolts. Then she fired a precise beam from her eyes directly at Raven, knocking the hero out of the air.

Starfire came up and helped Raven return to her feet. Raven groaned, "Ugh, that hurt. She's strong."

"Yes, my sister has become stronger." , Starfire returned, "Friend Raven we must attack together."

"Alright, let's do it." Both girls lifted off the ground and separated. They approached Blackfire from each side readying their attacks.

Blackfire watched as the teen heroes split into two directions. She chuckled to herself at their idea of trying to overwhelm her by attacking from two sides. Once they got close enough she let her power loose. She pointed both of her hands towards the floor and they each began to glow an insanely bright purple. As the two titans got closer, the light of her hands grew brighter until it illuminated the whole area and consumed the spot where Blackfire was standing.

Raven was thinking quickly enough to stop and shield her eyes from the light, but Starfire, who was charging towards her sister at top speed was blinded by the attack. She flew right through the area where Blackfire used to be standing and directly into where Raven was approaching from the other side. Raven uncovered her eyes when the light seemed to die down, only to see Starfire running right at her and knocking her across the room.

Starfire stopped when she felt her attack connect and simply floated where she was in a blind confusion. Once her sight returned, she was able to see Raven lying face down on the floor several yards in front of her. She quickly moved to help her friend but was stopped by Blackfire who appeared from the side and sunk a super-charged fist directly into her stomach. The force of the blow released spit from her mouth and caused her to hunch over in pain. Blackfire gave her no time to rest though, she grabbed Starfire's foot and slammed her whole body into the ground below.

Blackfire floated over both of the downed heroes and laughed victoriously, "HA HA HA HA HA, I always knew you were weaker than me sister!"

XXXXXX

_**With Robin and Kid Flash**_

The three fighters circled around each other cautiously. All of them ready for an attack at any moment. Robin was ready to prove himself better than X and would let nothing stop his victory. While Flash, usually the first to rush into a fight, was being cautious because all the stories the Titans had told him about this foe. And Red X was just as determined as Robin, if he was to get what he wanted from Slade, he couldn't lose here.

Robin made the first move. He threw three Birdarangs at X and then charged forward with his Bo Staff. Red X replied in kind by countering the three projectiles with his own X-Shuriken and then blocking Robin's swing with his X-Wristblade. They proceeded in a flurry of swings, each trying to overpower the other.

Kid Flash watched as the two fought and waited for his opening. When X's back was completely open he made his move. He moved faster than the eye could follow and hit X strongly from the behind. X went flying into the air, but turned around mid-flight and landed on his feet. He cursed at himself under his breath for forgetting about the other one, but didn't have time to do much as Robin instantly reengaged the thief.

Robin was feeling good as he attacked his dark counterpart. He was gaining ground, he would beat this impostor Red X with ease and then move on to Slade. Thoughts of Slade made Robin pick up speed and he landed a hit that staggered X back a few feet. Robin smirked at the villain. Red X stopped, tilted his head to the side slightly, and then pointed downward at the ground. Robin looked at his feet to see a bright Red X below him on the ground. "Shit..." the X exploded upwards and sent Robin flying across the room.

Kid Flash took this moment to make another attack. He charged straight at the man's back again. However, this time didn't work out so well. Mid-run Flash found his feet stuck to the ground and stopped with a force so great it almost gave him whiplash. He look down and saw his feet stuck in a red X-shaped adhesive.

"Sorry kid. You have to be more than fast to beat me." X's fist collided hard with Flash's face and knocked the young hero unconscious.

Slade looked around the warehouse. All the titans had fallen. Slade shook his head disapprovingly as he walked towards Robin's downed form, even he hadn't expected them to fall this fast. Robin was panting heavily when Slade's voice hit his ears, "Really Robin? Is this the extent of the power that the Teen Titans have? I am so disappointed. Such a pathetic display for people I used to consider adversaries. Have you all gotten sloppy over the years? How can you ever even consider defeating me if you can't defeat a weakling like Red X? I guess I was wrong about you, you really are pathetic."

Rage fired up in Robin like never before. Once again his vision ran red because of this man and he hit his second wind. He instantly channeled this anger towards X. X who was still focused on flash looked up to see a snarling Robin charging straight at him. He defended as quickly as he could but was being pushed backwards by the raging hero. While it seemed like Robin had X on the run, he was full of openings and X recognized this. He used one of these opening to deliver a swift kick into Robin's stomach, knocking the hero back a few feet before Robin charged at him again, flailing his staff. However, this time X had the time to properly counter. Robin swung sideways at X's head, but X ducked under the swing, getting inside Robin's guard, and delivered a devastating uppercut to the hero's chin. Robin was out cold. Slade laughed out loud.

XXXXXX

_**With Raven**_

Raven awoke groggily and her face lying on cold pavement. Her head really hurt. The last thing she remembered was Starfire hitting her. She looked up from her place on the ground. No one seemed to be paying attention to her. She looked around. They had all been beaten. All of the Titans had been defeated, including herself, and the enemy hadn't even lost a single person. They were practically destroyed. She knew this was a bad idea, but Robin just had to feed his obsession with Slade. Her friends were in no condition to continue fighting and she knew it. She would have to use her power and try to get them all out of here as soon as possible. Her eyes glowed white and she began to chant her classic spell, "Azarath, Metrion, Zin..GUH!"

Raven's spell was interrupted when her hair was forcibly yanked from behind. She was pulled up and was looking face-to-face with the masked man himself, Slade.

"Well, well, well. What was it that you were about to do? Hmmm? You weren't planning on leaving were you? After all, the party just got started, we can't have the guests of honor cutting out so soon. We haven't even got to the main party game yet."

"What are you talking about?" Raven choked out.

"Well this isn't just a reunion after all. It's also a going-away party. Because after tonight, there won't be a 'Teen Titans' anymore." Slade laughed after this. He pulled her hair forcefully, causing her to yell out in pain. Then he threw her to the ground. "Sorry, but I can't have you trying anymore disappearing acts, so you'll have to be taken care of early. Nighty night Raven."

Slade pulled out a long metal staff of his own and raised it above his head before swinging down towards Raven's head. She winced and shut her eyes tight as she saw the pole coming straight at her face and waited for its impact. She waited and waited and waited... Nothing. There was no impact, no sharp pain, no shifting straight to black. She cautiously cracked open one of her eyes before opening them both wide. Standing above her was a hooded figure that had caught the pole in one of his hands.

The figure wore a tight black bodysuit that accentuated the man's muscled form. He had dark grey armor fragments on his forearms, shins, and torso and wore a grey utility belt around his waist. He wore black boots with steel bottoms and black fingerless gloves. In fact, the only color on the man's outfit seemed to be the dark green hooded cloak he wore on his back. The hood of which covered most of his face, hiding all his features except his mouth which was stuck in a toothy grin. Raven thought the grin on the man's face felt familiar, but brand-new at the same time. Her heart felt like it stopped in her chest as she thought of who the grin reminded her of, but the light tan skin of the man made her dismiss the possibility of it being the same person.

The man's smirk beamed out from underneath the hood. He didn't look at Raven, he just kept staring at Slade. "Geez Slade. I knew you were an asshole, but beating on little girls? That's low even for you."

"Oh? What's this? A party crasher? How unexpected." Slade released the pole and jumped backwards, putting distance between him and the new arrival. "And who exactly might you be?"

"You know that is an amazing question with such a complicated answer. I'm not exactly sure myself, but I guess for now you can just call me Animal." The man kept his grip tight on the pole he had acquired. He moved fully between Slade and the downed girl.

"Animal? Oh! You must be that new up and comer I've been hearing so much about. People have been saying you're the next greatest thing since, well me. Some have even been saying that you could be better than me. Hmmm, I thought you would be taller."

"Wow, you seem to know a lot about me considering we've never met."

"Well, it's always good to know who your competition is, especially in the mercenary game. So, I have to ask. Why have you so rudely interrupted our party games?"

Animal's smirk grew wider under his hood. "Well I was in the neighborhood when I noticed you were having this party and I thought to myself, 'How come I wasn't invited?"

"Ah. Well it's a reunion of sorts, so you'll have to forgive me, but it's only for a certain group of people."

Raven stared confusedly at the two mercenaries as they conversed. She wasn't really sure if this man was here to help them or not. He had saved her, but for what purpose? She was cautious, but this might be their chance to escape while Slade was distracted with this new person. She quietly once again started up her spell. "Azarath, Metrio..."

"Not so fast, little girl!" Brother Blood yelled out when he noticed Raven trying again. His arm turned to a Sonic Cannon and he let loose towards the Titan. She saw the blast coming at her and once again braced herself for the worst, but once again no pain came. Instead she felt herself being hoisted up and when she opened her eyes she saw she was being delicately carried by Animal. He whispered to her, "You know, maybe you should stop doing that. It really seems to piss them off."

The man was so close when he said this that she could feel his warm breath on her ear. Hearing the man's voice so closely made her face heat up. _Wait, what? Why am I blushing? I don't even know this guy. I'm Raven, I don't blush What the hell is wrong with me?_, Raven thought_._ He held her tightly as he moved away from the cybernetic villain. She couldn't explain why but she felt safe in this man's arms, which was incredibly strange considering the situation.He gently lowered her back down to the floor. "Just stay put for a little bit, okay?" She just nodded to the man as she didn't really know what to say.

Brother Blood blinked. He didn't know what had happened. He was sure that he was going to hit that girl and he hadn't even seen the man move, but somehow Animal had managed to grab the girl and get out of the way before his blast hit. He was shaken out of his disbelief when Animal's voice spoke up, "Well that was pretty mean, don't you think? You know Slade, I'm starting to think this isn't really a party."

Slade chuckled, "Well, the party isn't really meant for you and you are interrupting the celebrations, so I unfortunately am going to have to ask you to leave."

"I'm sorry, I might have lied earlier. I'm not really here just for the party, I also have some business to attend to.", Animal replied.

"Oh? And what sort of business is that?"

"Five days ago Star Labs was broken into. A memory drive with some very sensitive information was taken. My employer wants it back."

"Oh? And what makes you think I have this drive?"

"Well let's just say that the thief that took it has a fetish for the color red and would make an excellent pirate." Red X's eyebrow twitched in irritation." So, since the only person in the room that fits that description happens to work for you, conclusions have been made."

Slade laughed loudly, "Alright, and if I don't want to part with this drive?"

Animal grinned devilishly, "Well, it's definitely more fun that way."

Slade raised an eyebrow and seemed to be thinking as he remained silent for a few seconds, "Hmmm, the Titans were rather disappointing party entertainment, plus this gives me a perfect opportunity to see just how good the competition really is. Alright, you three, destroy him."

Red X was the first to react. Animal turned to the young villain when he heard the approaching footsteps. He saw the spinning red projectiles flying at him fast. He flashed another toothy grin before doing the unexpected, run straight at the incoming X-Shuriken. With the pole still in his left hand, he moved to dodge the incoming projectiles, never stopping his charge toward the also charging Red X. He spun to the left to avoid the first projectile, shifted to the right to miss the second one, and ducked under the third. However, he didn't dodge the last flying X, instead he caught it with his free hand, before whipping it straight back at its owner.

This all happened in a matter of seconds and had caught a baffled Red X off guard, he barely managed to dodge the returning weapon. He could not, however, dodge the next attack from Animal and ended up taking a smack across the face from a steel pole, sending him flying across the room. X got up from the ground and looked across at his enemy, who simply stood there waiting for him with a smirk on his face. This felt awfully familiar to X. "Your pretty good, but so am I.", he said and pointed at the ground. Animal looked down and saw a bright Red X on the ground below his feet, "X marks the spot."

The ground exploded upward and a column of dust blocked sight of where Animal used to be. "See!" X was startled when he heard the loud voice ring out from behind him. He turned around to see Animal standing there without so much as a tear in his outfit. "He made the pun himself! He's totally a pirate!"

"I'm not a pirate!", X closed the distance between himself and the mercenary and slashed sideways at his neck. Animal ducked under the swing and countered with a swipe from the staff he had taken earlier. Both combatants ended up caught in a flurry of counter attacks.

Blackfire was getting impatient as she watched the two struggle against one another. This had been the day she was finally going to get revenge on her sister and her stupid friends, but now this hooded freak was ruining it. She didn't want to wait anymore. She would finish him off herself. Her eyes glowed and she fired the concentrated blast of energy straight at the man's back.

Animal's ear twitched under his hood and he suddenly dropped his weapon and ducked. X was surprised and looked up to see a bright purple flash before he was once again sent flying. Blackfire watched uncaringly as her 'ally' tumbled across the ground. "Hey!", she once again turned her attention to the hooded man, "What is wrong with you?! You should really learn to wait your turn Princess!"

Blackfire scoffed at him, "That's right! I am a princess! And I'll decide when it is 'my turn'." She began firing blast after blast at the man as he ran, jumped, and ducked around each one. She kept this up, just firing away, finding it amusing as the man tried to narrowly escape her powerful attacks. Then she had him, he had seemed to have made the mistake of running toward the corner of the large warehouse and now she had him trapped. She fired two large blasts directly at him, this time he wouldn't be able to dodge. She watched and waited, taking a bit of sadistic pleasure in the idea that her enemy would soon be blown to pieces, and just as the blasts were about to make impact... he vanished. Well, not exactly vanished, but his whole body seemed to suddenly burst into a bunch of tiny specks of light. Blackfire followed the small lights in confusion as they seemed to spread apart and then reconvene in the air only a couple feet in front of where she herself was floating. The lights all came together and let off one last bright glow before Animal was back with a wild grin plastered on his face.

"Sorry princess, but you guys aren't the only ones with tricks up your sleeves." Animal twisted in mid-air and laid a powerful kick with his steel-lined boot directly in Blackfire's stomach. Blackfire gasped as she felt the breath knocked out of her and then she went tumbling. Animal flipped unnaturally in the air and landed right back on his feet, almost like a cat would.

"Well then, I guess it would be my turn." Animal turned to see Brother Blood walking toward him, his mechanical parts glowing crimson.

"Are you sure? We don't want you hurting yourself now, old man. After all, you do have an artificial hip."

Blood laughed at the jest. "True! But I think you'll find I'm quite spry for my age!"

Animal jumped backwards as Blood launched himself in the air and came down hard on the spot where the hooded mercenary once stood. The whole place seemed to shake with the force of Blood's strike and the cement beneath his fist cracked in a web-like pattern. Blood smiled evilly and ran at Animal. He started delivering a series of powerful punches and kicks in an attempt to beat the man down with his enormous physical strength. Even though it appeared that Blood had Animal on the ropes, none of the attacks were actually connecting and after a few minutes of hitting nothing but air, Blood was getting frustrated. He knew that if he could just hit the man once that he would win. "Stay still and let me hit you!", Blood yelled and picked up speed in his onslaught of attacks.

Animal smiled, "Oh, you wanted to hit me? I was having a hard time telling with how slow you were going. Maybe your age is getting to you after all? Eh, gramps?"

"I'm not that old!", Blood yelled before transforming both his arms into sonic cannons and firing directly at the mercenary. Blood breathed heavily after the launching of his attack. He looked around, Animal was nowhere to be found. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned to look and was greeted with a swift jab to the face. He stumbled backwards clutching his nose in pain. He looked up to see Animal hopping between each foot and shadow boxing the air. Blood roared out and took a wide swing. Animal moved under the swipe and delivered another jab to the man's face. This play of dodging Blood's attacks and then returning with a swift smack to the face continued for about two minutes and Blood's human half of his face was starting to show some bruising. At this point, Blood was flat out pissed. Animal almost seemed to be playing with him as the merc danced around Blood's attacks. Blood had had enough and decided to attack with every ounce of available power he could muster. His robotic parts glowed an even brighter red and he aimed the hard punch directly at Animal's midsection. This time he felt it actually connect and for a brief second he was ecstatic, but that didn't last long as he saw what he connected to. Similar to how he himself had caught Cyborg's fist earlier, Animal simply stood there with Blood's fist in his hand and grin on his face. "Whu- Bu- H-How is this possible? You can't possibly be stronger than me!"

Animal's grin seemed to grow larger as he listened to the man. Then he started to crush Blood's hand. Blood, however, would not be stopped by the same trick he used earlier. As soon as he felt the pressure on his metallic hand increase, he transformed his arm into a cannon and fired. Though it didn't actually hit the man, it did manage to put some space between Blood and his enemy. Blood was desperate now though. This man had been playing with him through the entire fight and that pissed Blood off. He needed to try something else...then he remembered the ace in his sleeve.

Animal knew that it was time to end this fight. He had played with Blood long enough and now he had to move on. He was about to move in on Blood to place the final hit when he once again sensed an attack coming from behind him. He turned and barely had enough time to dodge the blasts that were coming his way. When he looked up to see who the attacker was, he was surprised to see it was Bumblebee. He almost yelled out to ask her 'what the hell she was doing' when he noticed the red glow coming from her eyes. This time Animal was not amused. Controlling minds and using others to fight your battles for you was cowardly at best, and the way Blood used it to make allies fight one another was despicable. Animal growled at Blood with a sharp edge to his voice, "You really are desperate aren't you! Throwing someone else's body in harm's way to protect yourself? You really are a coward aren't you?!"

Blood laughed maniacally, "Call me whatever you want! It won't matter after I kill you!"

Animal still spoke with anger, "Sorry, but that's not gonna happen. I don't have any time to play games with you anymore."

Blood opened his mouth to reply to the man's words with an insult, but his eyes widened before he could get the words out. Animal was before him with his fist drawn back before Blood could even react. For a split second Blood could make out one Animal's eyes under his hood. The green slit eye was similar to cat's. It pierced through him with an anger that shook him to the very bone. Then all Blood could focus on was pain as he received another hit to his face, only this one was ten times harder than the last few and sent Blood's unconscious body hurtling the length of the warehouse.

The red glow faded from Bumblebee's eyes as Blood's control on her mind was cut and her unconscious body fell into Animal's arms. He picked her up and walked towards where the rest of her friend's were lying equally unconscious.

Blackfire rose shakily from her position on the ground. She had finally recovered from that kick. It was a lot harder than she had expected it to be. Her attention was drawn to movement in the corner of her eye and she looked over to see Red X sitting up and rubbing his head. "Ugh. What the hell hit me?", he groaned.

"It was him.", she replied almost a little too quickly, "That Animal guy smacked you down hard."

"Ar-Are you sure? I kind of remember a bright blast before I was out."

"What? What are you talking about?! Are you calling me a liar?! Why would I even lie about something like that?! If I said it was him that hit you, then it was him! Got it?!"

"O-okay", X responded, still a little unsure about what happened.

"Anyway, he's stronger than he looks"

"Yeah, and he doesn't exactly look weak."

"As much as it pains me to say this, I might need your help to beat him."

"Fine, we'll attack together."

Blackfire groaned, "Fine."

"Are you two done flirting?! Are you going to attack me now?!" Animal's voice was heard from across the warehouse. The two villains marveled at how he could have possibly heard them from so far away. They shared a look and then instantly both got up and moved to attack.

Blackfire flew off to Animal's left and Red X ran around to his right, both hurling their own projectiles at the hooded mercenary. Animal chuckled. They were going to have to do better than that if they had any hope of stopping him. However, he was surprised when the projectiles did not actually hit him, but rather collided with each other all around him. Animal was confused as to what was happening until he noticed that when the two projectiles connected together they released a thick plume of smoke and he was now surrounded by the stuff, blocking his vision. He had to admit, it was a clever plan on the fly. They had used much more teamwork than he thought possible of the two. Unfortunately for them, they didn't take into account that their opponent's senses weren't exactly human. So when X came from behind with a downward swing, Animal was still able to shift to the side and avoid it. And when Blackfire followed that up with a flying kick, Animal rolled out of the way.

Red X was worried now. They had taken a chance, hoping that blinding their opponent would give them the upper hand, but it failed and now they were stuck in this smoke cloud with a clearly stronger enemy and limited sight. He was tensed trying to remain as silent as possible, ready for an attack at any side. He felt a tap on his shoulder and he quickly turned around, but there was no one there. He was starting to feel scared, around him he could see nothing but smoke. Then out of nowhere he heard what sounded like a whisper. He tried to make out what it was saying, but it was too quiet. Then he heard it again and tried to move toward where it was coming from. As he was moving it seemed like the whisper was getting louder. He kept moving toward it, he didn't know why but he felt like he had to hear what the voice was trying to tell him, like it was important. He got closer and closer and even closer still, when finally he could hear what the quiet voice was saying. It was faint, but he could make out the words, "Arrrrrr, tell me where ye hid yer buried treasure."

X's eyebrow twitched uncontrollably, "GODDAMNIT! I'M NOT A FUCKING PIRATE!"

XXXXXX

_**Back with Raven again**_

Raven stared weary-eyed at the large cloud of smoke. She heard Red X yell something at the top of his lungs followed by loud uncontrolled laughter from Animal. She didn't know what was going on, but she was really hoping that the man that saved her would win. She took this moment to think about the man. There was something eerily familiar about the man that reminded her of Beast Boy, but this thought just brought pain to her. With just the man's given name she would have even said it was the same person, but it just wasn't possible. Beast Boy was never that strong. Those three enemies had defeated all six of them without breaking a sweat and now this guy was taking all three on and making them look like children. Beast Boy couldn't have improved that much in four years, could he? Plus, what was with that weird teleporting light power? Beast Boy could never do that and this man hadn't turned into an animal once. Besides all that, this man was a mercenary. The Beast Boy she knew would never do the kinds of things people like that did for money. No, this couldn't be her missing friend, just someone who reminds her of him.

It took a while but the smoke finally cleared. Relief washed over her when the clearing smoke revealed Animal standing over two unconscious villains. She could hardly believe it. This guy had actually managed to defeat all three of them and he didn't even look tired. She almost cheered, it looked like she and her friends were actually going to make it out of there alive.

This look of happiness was wiped from her face when she looked to her left to see Brother Blood pushing himself off the ground. He looked up right at her. The man's face was covered in blood and his machinery all over his body was dented and sparking. He held an angry, crazed look in his eye. He pointed his arm at her, "Damn it. I came here today to kill the Titan's and that's exactly what I'm gonna do!"

Animal looked over from the villains he just downed to see a beaten Brother Blood back on his feet. He saw the man point his hand at Raven and he saw the man's arm once again turn into a sonic cannon. Animal was too far away to swoop Raven up and move her out of danger like he had done before, so he did the only thing he could think of at the time to save the girl.

Raven once again found herself in mortal danger from an incoming attack. She knew that Animal wasn't close enough this time. She saw the light erupt from Blood's cannon. For the third time that day she braced for impact, and for the third time that day she waited only to feel nothing. She opened her eyes wide again when she saw that Animal had once again saved her. This time, however, was not without someone taken damage. Animal was standing over between herself and Blood with a grin on his face. Had he taken the attack for her? Why? She didn't even know him. The attack probably wouldn't even have killed her, just hurt a lot. So why would he jump in the way? She did the only thing she could think of and asked him. "Why?"

Animal chuckled, "What can I say, I've got a soft spot for cute girls."

Raven felt her face start to heat up again at the words, but she did her best to suppress it. What the hell was with this guy? Was he an idiot? She didn't have any time to ask him anymore questions as the man's grin disappeared and he turned to face Blood. Her eyes widened again when the turn revealed that his cloak and bodysuit were torn in a large hole in the back and in the space was the man's scorched skin.

Brother Blood got scared when the man turned around to face him. Any source of a grin on the man's face was gone and Blood could almost feel the fierce eyes glaring at him. In Blood's rage he had attacked the girl, but he hadn't really thought about what would happen after that. He slowly started inching backwards, not really knowing where to go, but still feeling an instinctive urge to run away.

He didn't make it far before Animal was back on him and knocked him to the ground with another fierce hit. "You really shouldn't have done that. Let's make sure you don't try something stupid like that again." Animal placed a foot on Blood's chest and took both of Blood's forearms in his hands.

"NO! NO! Not my arms! Do you know how long it took me to upgrade those!?", Blood yelled wildly in fear.

"I don't care." Animal began to pull. The metal in the arm's creaked and groaned at the strain. Blood could only watch as his metallic arms were ripped off his body and smashed by the mercenary. He whimpered in defeat when the pressure was removed from his chest and he thought it was over. Only to be overcome with total fear when the pressure was returned and Animal took a hold on his metallic legs. He wasn't given any time to argue before his bottom appendages joined his arms in the scrap heap. Blood took a few seconds and then fainted.

Slade started to slowly clap, "My, my, that was awfully brutal wasn't it?"

Animal looked over at the man, "He'll be fine. He probably didn't even feel it."

Slade laughed, "Yes, you're probably right. Anyway, it appears the stories prove true, that was rather impressive. Much more entertaining than the Titans."

"Yeah and the same thing will happen to you if you don't hand over that drive."

Slade laughed again, "Sorry. Unfortunately I need it for something, but your enthusiasm has been noted."

"Don't be stupid Slade. I turned all your fighters into dust and I'll do the same to you right now if you don't tell me where the drive is."

"I think you'll find I'm not as simple to defeat as two children and an old fool, besides..." Slade's voice stopped coming from the man in front of Animal and seemed to fill the entire warehouse, "I'm not really there." The mask of the man opened to reveal a small screen with another masked Slade on it.

"Damn you Slade. I'll find you and I will get that drive back."

"Oh I'm sure you will and I'll be waiting." The screen flicked off and Slade was gone.

"Damn it!" Animal yelled.

XXXXXX

_**An Hour Later**_

Red X and Blackfire were unconscious and tied up against a wall in the warehouse. Blood lay next to them, not needing to be tied up because he couldn't really go anywhere anyway. All the Titan's were now awake and Raven had spent the last while filling them in on what happened, not sparing any details. Animal himself was breaking the Slade-bot apart and searching for any clues that could lead him to Slade's whereabouts. Finding nothing the man sighed and stood up. He looked back at the Titans discussing in a circle about what had happened. He frowned for a second and started to quietly make his way to the exit, not really wanting to talk with the young heroes.

"Hey!", Animal winced as Cyborg's voice rang out, "You're not leaving are you? We didn't even say thanks yet."

Animal turned to the group, "That's okay. I wasn't really here to help you guys, I just needed to get something from Slade. I'm not really the hero type."

"That's not true. The way Raven tells it, you helped her even though you didn't have to. That spells hero in my book any day", Cyborg returned.

Animal did a fake laugh, "Ha ha ha, maybe I was just feeling a little generous today."

"Well anyway, thanks for the save man. We would have been toast if you hadn't shown up."

Starfire spoke up as well, "Yes, we are truly grateful that you helped us this day."

The rest of the Titans all went around with their separate 'thanks' as well, Raven feeling a bit awkward when delivering hers and Robin barely muttering his out.

"Well, glad to have helped, but I should really get going now." Animal said and started to walk away.

"Wait!", Raven called out, "We could work together, you know, to find Slade I mean."

Robin glared at the girl's back from where he was standing.

Animal let a sad smile cross over his face and he looked at Raven over his shoulder. "Sorry, I'm not really good at the whole 'team' thing.", and with that he walked out of the building.

XXXXXX

_**At Titan's Tower**_

When they got back everyone went to their respective rooms and reflected on what had happened earlier that day.

Raven laid back on her bed and thought about the man that had saved her three times that day. She wasn't sure why but she really wanted to see him again. She had some questions she wanted to ask him, but there was more to it than that. She just really seemed to enjoy being in the man's presence, it made her feel safe. Despite the horrible situation they were in, for the first time in a long time, the overbearing depression that filled the air was gone.

Meanwhile, Starfire searched for her boyfriend and to her dismay he was right back in the computer room. However, this time the screen wasn't filled with Slade, but instead with searches for the mercenary that had saved them, Animal. "Boyfriend Robin, what are you doing?"

"I don't trust him Star. This guy's a mercenary, why would he save us? Where did he come from? What's his real connection to Slade? Is he working with him?"

"But Friend Animal helped us..."

"That doesn't mean anything Star. He's a merc and he's in my city. I'm going to find out what he's up to and if he gets in my way of stopping Slade, I'll put him down too."

XXXXXX

_**Elsewhere**_

Animal laid back on the hotel room bed and sighed. He was going to be here longer than he had originally thought. The plan was to find Slade, get the drive, and get out. Simple enough, but when he walked himself into a trap set for the Titans and when they were down he couldn't stop himself from helping them. Now he needed to find Slade again, a feat not so easy to accomplish if the man doesn't want to be found. Animal closed his eyes and sighed once more. Right now all he could think of was getting some sleep, he was exhausted.

He took off his hood to reveal his face. Tan skin, black hair, green eyes, and... pointy ears? Animal's skin and hair suddenly started to change colors in blotches. This continued until all his skin was a bright green and his hair was a darker, pale green. He stared at the ceiling and spoke out loud, "Well, it's been four years. Welcome back to Jump City."

**And there it is, chapter two. How was it?**

**This was my first time writing real fight scenes so please give some feedback on that. Tell me what I can improve on or what I should do to write them better. After all this fic will have fighting in the future, and if my scenes suck or are boring I've definitely got to improve.**

**Also, I've made a few small developments with Raven, but for the most part anything could still happen on that front. Even Blackfire could come back to be a pairing, I haven't really decided. Anyway keep letting me know what you think.**

**Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter of **_**The Lost Titan**_.


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